The Pursuit Of Happiness!
by Irrevocable SaaSha
Summary: AU. SasuSaku. Lady Haruno Sakura. Captain Uchiha Sasuke. Childhood acquaintences. She's been head-over-heels-in-Love-with-him ever since she laid eyes on him as a twelve years old. And has her heart set on marrying him. By hook or by crook.
1. Prologue Worlds Apart

_**Author's Note **__(really long XD)__**: **_

_Gosh! This was sooo much fun to write! Chapter 1 was at first going to be part of the prologue, but I decided to split it. I'll upload it soon after I get a couple of reviews. I didn't think I'd be able to put multiple characters in a story, and still make it look good . I really hope I managed alright. I'd really like some feedback. So please please Review. _

_I was inspired by one of my favourite romance novels. Its an old old one - I still adore it though. ~ ' The Magic Of You' ~ by Johanna Lindsey. It's nothing special, but I find the heroine extremely endearing. _

_I tend to really __**love**__ my heroine's bold, determined and in reckless pursuit of their men, despite all of their insecurities, while being mindful of reality of course. (There are a few exceptions). I love that they are doing __**something**__ to grasp hold of their happiness. _

_Anyways, Sakura really fit's the bill of the heroine a lot, doesn't she? Gah, it must be why I love her so much3. _

**Disclaimer: **I miss the good old, fun, sweet and light-hearted SasuSaku/Team 7 like crazy! T_T. I wouldn't be missing them this much, if they belonged to me! T_T L

_**Prologue : Worlds Apart **_

'_**A whiff of mystery, dark and foreboding **_

_**Clinging wearily to painfully stubborn pieces of locked-up emotions **_

_**Heart of suppressed fire, discarded desires and cautious freedom **_

_**Camouflaged by breathtaking beauty and blank, uptight indifference**_

_**Abrasive and distrusting of all that is genuine and good.'**_

' _**A breath of fresh air, warm, spirited and inviting **_

_**Unguarded, and openly baring the full vulnerable depths of her soul **_

_**Heart of unrestricted fire, strong desires, and reckless abandon **_

_**Wrought with painful insecurities and yet so willing to brave his soul**_

_**Through raging storms and unearth the treasure burried underneath.' **_

Temari's breath caught unexpectedly, as her vigilant eyes strayed to the entrance of the tavern.

Her composure hadn't quite settled, when two other gorgeous men trailed in right after '_he-who-made-her-breathing-unsteady-for-the-first-freaking-time-in-her-23-yeas-of-life'_.

She shook her head to drive away the silly effect _he _had on her.

She turned around and proceeded to pour more whiskey into eager, rapidly emptying mugs, and rolled her eyes at the other barmaids who had begun to shamelessly swoon over the three attractive specimens that had just walked in.

Hastily sashaying over to serve them, and wantonly wondering aloud which of them will be lucky enough to be bedded by one of them sexy arses tonight. 'How vulgar!' she thought derisively.

She continued to silently work while keeping a discreet eye on them.

On second, fourth and many glances after, she concluded that he was not the most attractive one of the trio. That would be the guy with the unusually pale eyes, and beautiful dark hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, long strands framing the strikingly feminine features becomingly. The other one had untidy just-out-of-bed-hair, with mischievous brown eyes, weird red triangular cheek tattoos and the most appealing grin she'd ever seen, even if it was slightly cocky.

And Drat it! Why were her eyes repeatedly drawn to _him_ then?

It was strange that he was the only one that made her heart beat a little faster.

He wasn't even as attractive as the other two, and yet, he was the one that elicited the strongest reaction in her.

Something about those lazy dark eyes, the bored nonchalance in his demeanor, the casual elegance with which he carried himself, the . .

Shut up, Temari! Focus!She was not a swoony barmaid or a horny doxy like the rest of the sad women that worked here.

Oh No! She was not. _She_ was a 'lady', cleverly disguised and stationed at 'The Hells Hound' tavern as a barmaid on purpose_. _

_Hanging around in vulgar shady areas like these, was merely part of her job description. She had a mission to complete; important intelligence to gather. And taverns were always the best place when it came to acquiring information. _

_Her agenda for this particular mission? _Find a certain man, alert interested party and get the hell out of there. _Period_.

_Temari was on the look-out for a 'Captain Uchiha Sasuke' , a man, who apparently was 'The Ultimate God's Gift' to women, with raging bottomless midnight eyes and midnight hair to match, rebellious dark hair that defied gravity, and stubbornly stood out at the back _. . . . Wait a minute!

Sultry teal hues narrowed in concentration to mentally ascertain.. Could it be?... No way.

Even if _he_ did have dark eyes and hair that did, somewhat fit the exaggerated criteria…

She had to remind herself. He was not the most attractive man here. Uchiha Sasuke was supposed to be exceptionally attractive. Only _he_ somewhat fit the description, but the other men were even better-looking than he was.

She _couldn't_ conclude '_he_' was the man she was looking for, merely because _he_ made her want to kiss the daylights off of _him_, just so she could make _his_ heart thud as abnormally fast as hers did whenever she looked at _him_. Right. So that ruled all of them out.

Dammit. She needed more information, though, she was irrationally relieved. This meant her dark-eyed stranger was safe. Whenever she managed to relay information about a target, they never managed to survive. For some strange reason, she didn't want him to die.

She absently wondered how attractive Uchiha Sasuke might be, given that the men before her were all rather exceptional looking too, as she too, _sashayed_ over to the trio, and began to sweetly serve the drunk men around them, while covertly eavesdropping on the gentlemen's conversation at the same time.

She didn't want to draw attention to herself by serving them directly, and besides, there were plenty of other barmaids more than willing to do the honours. She was, also quite afraid she might pour her drink into their food or heaven forbid, on their person, if she had to directly look into those dark eyes of his. They had a strange effect on her.

She'd rather not risk it This mission was important to her family.

************************************************************************ ********* .

Oblivious to the racy thoughts coming their way, the trio was concentrated on a drinking game of sorts.

'Appealing grin' and ' pale eyes' were attempting to discern who could hold their liquor better, while '_he'_ seemed to be lazily watching the byplay between the other two.

"Dammit, Inuzuka! This is the one thing you always manage to best me at. How do you do it?" demanded 'pale eyes', as he narrowed his striking eyes and glared unsteadily at Inuzuka.

"Practice, Hyuga" remarked a still sober Inuzuka smugly, cocky grin in place, "Just get out, and socialize more often like I do. You'll develop a high tolerance for alcohol in no time, trust me. It's a skill worth possessing."

Hyuga made a disgruntled noise in his throat in response.

"What do you say, Nara? Comes in handy in our line of work, doesn't it? I may be the best at holding my drink, but Nara here is not too bad himself." as he gestured to 'her' dark-eyed stranger.

Nara. That was his name. Nara, Hyuga and Inuzuka.. First names or last names? She would have to ask the other barmaids later. She was sure one of them would know.

Until then, she would continue to eavesdrop. They weren't who she was looking for, but they might still know who Uchiha Sasuke was. After all, this was where Uchiha Sasuke was born and bred. Members of the aristocracy were almost always acquainted with each other. And this one had scandal after scandal attached to his name….

"Anyway, now that we're all properly foxed, well, atleast the two of you are, I'm going to propose a toast to the cause of my celebration tonight." Inuzuka casually raised his glass, tilting it towards the other two.

'Oh?'

"To the coming of age of Lady Haruno and her long awaited debut into society."


	2. Unexpected Suitors with Hidden Agenda's

**Chapter 1: Unexpected Suitors with hidden agenda's**

"Sakura's coming of age? " he inquired suspiciously, "Why would that be of interest to you? You don't normally care for debutantes." speaking for the first time since _he_ entered.

"I don't, but Sakura's special" said Inuzuka, with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"Why the specific interest in her?" Hyuga interjected stiffly. Temari couldn't help noticing, with a slight sink of her heart that Nara looked quite interested in Inuzuka's answer as well.

"I want her" Inuzuka brazenly stated, seemingly oblivious to the hostile nature of the inquiry directed at him.

"Careful, Kiba. You're not suggesting that you would like to bed her for the fun of it, now she's of age, are you? Sakura isn't someone you can easily make into a notch on your bedpost, if that is your intention. And even if she were, I wouldn't allow it." _her_ dark-eyed stranger sharply rebuked.

Of course he would have someone he was interested in. It was just as well. She didn't belong in his world anyway.

"Whoa, You have no claim on her Shikamaru. It's not like you're interested in her anyway." Kiba hotly responded.

"Maybe not, but I'm still not going to stand aside and let you ruin her."

Oh. Shikamaru is his name. And he's not interested in her. Though she didn't know why she should be relieved for it..

"Why not?" he pig-headedly demanded.

"Neither am I" Hyuga unexpectedly intervened with a definite edge to his voice. " I won't allow it either."

" If it is for the principle of the matter Neji, you really ought to give it a rest. I won't be convinced."

" Of course you won't. There isn't a single honorable bone in your disreputable body." Neji derisively stated.

" Guilty as charged. I see no reason to defend my honor, since I have no honor when it comes to women" he breezily stated, a mischievous grin playing upon his face as he raised his hands in front of him, palms facing outwards.

"It is not a laughing matter Kiba." Shikamaru exasperatedly cut in. " Just leave Sakura alone and we'll forget we ever had this conversation."

"I can't do that. I've already made up my mind about her."

Then reluctantly added, "I will do the decent thing and marry her if, mind you, only if I get caught while compromising her. Would the two of you get off my back now?",

He had been hoping to smooth things over with his half-hearted promise, but the frosty expressions darkening the moods of his companions seemed to indicate that his hasty assurance had had the opposite effect.

The obvious vibes of displeasure coming his way compelled Kiba to explain his interest in her.

"Look, I've wanted that chit for ages, ever since she let me steal her first kiss when she was twelve."

'Twelve? What the hell, Kiba! if she was twelve, then you were….you were freaking _fifteen_ when you claimed the lips of an innocent _twelve year old?_' Shikamarublurted out, thoroughly outraged.

'No! _Yes_, but it wasn't like what you're thinking. By God, I did not take advantage of her. If you ask me, it was _she_ that took advantage of _me_.'

'Hells bells! She was only a child, Kiba!You are not helping your cause I will not have you defaming Sakura's good character.' _he _bit out through gritted teeth, jaws tightening with irritation.

'I did not mean to. Hells bells! You've _got _to believe me. She _asked _me to kiss her. She really did. I swear by all that's holy!' Kiba insisted.

' Why would she do that?' Neji sceptically inquired. ' You're honestly not as irresistible as you believe yourself to be. Lady Haruno seems to be of a sensible sort. I can't think of any logical reason she would want to kiss you'

'Experience!' stated Kiba triumphantly, deciding to ignore the obvious jab at his charms. ' Took it right out of her own mouth herself told me she wanted to learn how to properly kiss.'

Both, Shikamaru and Neji raised incredulous eyebrows at this suspiciously, smug proclamation from Kiba.

Kiba didn't want to be accused of maligning Sakura's name further when that really wasn't his intention, so he decided to spill all.

He didn't think Sakura would mind too much. Besides, his companions were two of the tightest lids he'd ever known. They could be trusted to keep quiet.

They had kept their mouths sealed a million times for him before, and even aided in keeping his precious affairs from becoming public scandals. Too bad this time was different. He should have realized they wouldn't be as accommodating as they were all acquainted with Sakura

So spill Sakura's secret, he did.

'In the strictest of confidence, Sakura said, that if all else failed, she planned on seducing a very difficult man someday when she came of age.'

Neji raised an incredulous, haughty brow in response to Kiba's revelation, 'And why would she need to engage _your_ help, when she can rely on her natural charms? Lady Haruno has always been very becoming, even as a twelve year old. That aside, _who_ would she have her sights on at such a tender age? I don't remember there being any lad worthy of her attention', he dryly remarked.

"You wouldn't, stuffed shirt that you are. But it's common knowledge to the rest of us, that _Lady Haruno_, along the rest of the female population, was very much enamored with Uchiha Sasuke once upon a time. Shikamaru can vouch for that too"

"I can. I do recall Sakura's interest in the Uchiha, though it doesn't do you any good. She, ah, told you , she wanted to seduce Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Well, she never mentioned his name, but it was bloody obvious to me who she was referring to. We all know the effect Uchiha Sasuke had on women. The lucky bastard. I have to say, I'm quite relieved he left town when he did. I've barely any trouble bedding a woman ever since-."

"Just get on with your damned account of it, Kiba" Neji impatiently cut in, irritated with the inconsequential gloating .

"Fine. I won't go into detail, but Sakura simply said that this lad she wanted to impress, was much older to her." informed Kiba, with a light shrug of his shoulders, " She said he was a gentleman in the strictest sense of the word and she was afraid that he would not be taken in by her natural charms, as scarred and stubborn and resolutely against women and marriage as he was. She said she loved him enough and more to want to cure him of his sour disposition. But she didn't quite know where to start. And so I very gallantly offered my services."

In the face of the still hostile demeanor of his companions he persisted.

'Tis true! Those were her exact wordings. I might seem like the big bad wolf here, but I only gave the chit what she wanted. She was very persuasive. I didn't stand a chance!'

'Because you're a bloody dog in heat, Inuzuka, who couldn't be noble, and resist the charms of an impressionable pretty young chit, if you tried', scoffed Neji.

'I'll let that pass, since it does have a measure of truth to it. At the very least, you are beginning to believe me.'

'Well, as much of a cad you are to women, I will concede that you are not so despicable as to lie when it is time for truth to be called upon', Neji grudgingly admitted.

'That may very well be so." Shikamaru acquiesced, " I grant I find the situation doubly vexing as Sakura is a personal acquaintance of mine. Nevertheless," he continued forcefully, 'did you not have the restraint and common sense to not teach a twelve year old lady, of noble birth no less, to seduce men much older than her? Or did your libido cloud your judgement too much? How did it not occur to you that it was dangerous and wrong to equip a little girl, barely out of the schoolroom, with such scandalous knowledge**?'**

' So sue me! I was bowled over by her logic, and her pretty pink lips.' Kiba retorted heatedly. 'I do not have anything to say in my defence.' he threw his arms up, 'I was an irresponsible fifteen year old lad, and very much taken in by her predicament. Her affections for this mystery man seemed to run deep, and the serious effort she put in to meet her desire of winning his affections really charmed me.'

Stony silence was his only response.

Sigh.

'If it makes you feel better, I merely taught her how to kiss. She never let me go any further than that.'

'Lady Haruno _is_ a sensible sort after all', Neji jibed.

'I wouldn't have gone any further myself, he merely retorted, otherwise ignoring Neji's mild jab at his ego, 'which brings me back to the cause of this celebration. Sakura's coming of age. She's no longer twelve. And that means-'

'You aren't going to let up on this, are you?' _he _asked with narrowed eyes.

'No, I'm sorry', Kiba unconcernedly replied, 'Sakura is of age now. What I couldn't teach her before, I can now. She also quite abruptly decided after the first time we kissed that she didn't want to do it anymore. And my skills were not in question, because she thanked me quite profusely for all my help. She said it felt wrong being kissed by another man when she really only just wanted to be kissed by the one she loved. And that was it. Not long after that, Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha. Clearly things didn't go as well with this not so mysterious straight-laced lad as she'd hoped. She seems to be in full spirits now and in control of her emotions, but ladies are well-versed in the art of pretence. She could very well be nursing a broken heart underneath and needs some comforting. If she'd let me, (and nothing, any of you could say will change my mind), I would very much like to introduce her to the pleasures of love-making as well ….

"Spare us the disgusting details, Kiba,"Shikamaru harshly forced out, " Its upsetting."

"and decidedly dishonorable", added Neji stiffly, "Taking advantage of a defenceless, vulnerable young lady, when she's weak and in pain; Using her emotions against her…I cannot fathom…it is beyond despicable. I expect better of you"

' Well, you shouldn't. It never seemed to bother any of you as much, when I regaled you with tales of my other women.' Kiba huffily stated, even though he knew it was pointless. They would not budge. Well, they would see that neither would he.

"They were not women of good character and birth. And they were women neither of us knew personally. Lady Haruno on the other hand, means something to the both of us" Neji sternly interjected.

His pronouncement seemed to surprise them both some.

" I can understand why she'd be important to Shikamaru. She is distant cousin to Uzumaki, an important and influential friend of his, but why is she important to you? You're not really personally acquainted with her, are you?' Kiba curiously asked, cleverly shifting the focus to Neji's surprising claim and away from him. "Though all Clans are distantly related to one another and move in the same circles, I do not remember _you_ ever being interested in socializing with the Haruno clan, let alone their women before. So Neji, care to tell us why Sakura means something to you all of a sudden?"

" You're not off the hook, Kiba. Before the subject is entirely derailed, I will have you know, that if you insist on pursuing Sakura with your current intentions, then I will oppose you by personally courting her for marriage myself."

"I may not have an actual interest in her, but I suppose, marriage to her would not be too horrible a prospect and quite a convenient, even if troublesome arrangement. We may not love each other, but we do like each other's company. It is pleasant to converse with her as she is one of the few who can match my intellect, and as long as she occasionally leaves me alone to stare at the clouds and play my shogi, we should be quite comfortable, if not ecstatically happy together."

" In truth, I am not quite ready for marriage yet, but you are forcing my hand. I cannot leave Sakura to the likes of you. She would be much better off married to me than ruined by you. Now that I have stated my intentions, I have to say, I too would like to know why Sakura means something to you, Neji? I hadn't realized you had a personal stake in this."

"I wasn't going to mention it , but since we are on the topic, I might as well share that I have decided on courting Lady Haruno."

"What! Why"

"

"Why not? What objection could you have to our marriage? We are well-suited to each other. Lady Haruno is an intelligent and beautiful woman and possesses a lot of qualities that I admire and any man would be fortunate to have her as his wife. " he stiffly stated.

"Yes, well, would she be fortunate to have a stuffed-shirt like you as a husband?" Kiba countered, feeling quite gratified in being able to poke some fun at him as well, earning a glare from Neji.

" Besides," he continued, " isn't there a perfectly good reason why you shouldn't be marrying Sakura at all?" narrowing his eyes at him.

"I don't know what you mean." Neji stiffly stated, sounding quite uncomfortable with this line of questioning.

" You certainly do. You are in love with someone else, Neji." Shikamaru strongly interjected. "Do not seek to ruin your lives by marrying Sakura when you are in love with another."

Do not presume to know what I feel. And you are one to talk. You do not seek to marry Lady Haruno out of love either." Neji quietly responded, voice seemingly bland and devoid of emotion.

" Maybe not, but I am also not in love with another woman."

" I do not want to discuss this. I have already decided to pursue her." Neji stonily stated, his beautiful face set in firm hard lines.

"What about Tenten?"

"What about her?"

" Quit acting like a jerk, Neji" Kiba angrily slapped his hand on the table. " Is marrying Sakura what you really want?"

" Yes. As I said, she would make a suitable wife for me. She possesses many qualities that I seek for in my wife."

"Screw suitability. Have you discussed this with Tenten?." Shikamaru urgently pressed.

A shadow of pain drifted across his face. After a long pause, he blankly admitted. "Yes. We discussed it."

"And?" he prompted.

"It is what she wants." he bit out, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"It cannot be what she wants. She loves you, Neji."

"It does not matter. She will not have me. And I will not beg. We are not destined to be together in this life. That is all there is to it."

"Screw destiny. And screw your pride. Why the hell not, Neji? Fight for her. Does it matter so much that you are of noble blood and she of common blood with no lineage to speak of?" Kiba hotly interjected. "Lord Hiashi may not approve, but I am sure Hinata and Hanabi-"

"Enough! I will hear no more. Lord Hiashi is not the problem. It is Tenten. Her heart is as immovable as a mountain when her minds made up. I cannot fight her. Even if it goes against every grain in my heart, I will do as she says and marry someone of my own status."

"Marriage to Lady Haruno is not an unappealing prospect. She is of a sensible sort. Intelligent, beautiful, in the same line of work as us, with good character and breeding. More importantly, our emotional states compliment each other. You mentioned that she is in love with someone she cannot be with. It is a feeling I understand well. At the very least, we have a common ground to build on. Time will heal our wounds and gradually, we might even come to love each other, even if not as passionately as we loved before. At the very least, I promise to treat her well. She will not be lacking for anything. I will not worry about Tenten. She does not want to be my problem, so I will cast her out of my mind.."

"Easier said than done. Good luck with that" Shikamaru dryly remarked.

"Thank You" Neji stonily responded.

" So I guess it is settled then. Since we are set upon our ways, the only alternative is to compete against each other for her hand. Each of us will be determinedly pursuing her for our own selfish reasons. I daresay my reasons are far more honorable, as my primary motivation is to save her from the two of you, though whether she wants to be rescued or not, I do not know. The two of you will thank me some day as well, especially you Neji, for preventing you from making the biggest mistake of your life. And if I do have any ulterior motive here, it is to finally be free of my mother's matchmaking. She atleast will be immensely pleased at the prospect of my marrying and bringing home a bride."

" This is going to be quite the challenge and an extremely fun one at that. Shall we each make a bet on which of us she will choose to make things a bit more interesting? I know the two of you are not into betting as a sport or otherwise, therefore there will be no money involved this time, only our pride. So may the best man win!" Kiba gushed, looking quite satisfied with this outcome and happy that the interrogation was done with, no doubt thinking that his vast experience with women and personal history with Lady Sakura would give him a clear advantage over the two.

" May the best man win indeed." Neji quietly and resolutely echoed, adding pointedly " No underhanded tactics, Inuzuka." sounding like a man with a purpose who had no intention of failing.

" None whatsoever. Not while I'm competing with the two of you."

" I happened to have forgotten to mention a piece of information that is relevant to the topic at hand. Depending on his intentions and level of interest in Sakura, it might put a bit of a dent in our plans regarding Sakura, though not by much, since Uchiha Sasuke is not the marrying kind. I recall an excited Naruto mentioning that on account of Lady Uzumaki being pregnant, Sasuke was being forced to take a break from pirating and come visit as they want to him make their baby's godfather."

" Uchiha Sasuke is coming back. Well, that is a surprise, but I'm not discouraged. He will not risk incurring Naruto's rage if he plays with Sakura's emotions and as you said, he is not the marrying kind. And I doubt Sakura is still as enamored with him as she once was. So I do not think we have anything to worry about." Kiba offered bracingly.

"Regardless of Uchiha Sasuke, I will proceed with my intention to court Lady Haruno."

" This could all be avoided if the two of you let up on your -"

" Not a chance, Shikamaru."

Sigh.

"So be it then."

Intel on Uchiha Sasuke gathered and relayed For her own sake, Temari silently prayed that Lady Sakura was indeed not still in love with Uchiha Sasuke.


End file.
